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tv   Americas Newsroom  FOX News  April 19, 2017 6:00am-8:01am PDT

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garlic cupcakes from ava's black garlic truffle cupcakes. >> they're really good, right? the garlic is sweet. >> it's a little garlicy but delicious. want a bite? >> bill: you can have it. good morning, everybody. breaking news overnight. aaron hernandez reportedly committing suicide in his prison cell. an official saying he hanged himself with a bed sheet. a dreadful fall from grace, a one-time tight end for the world champion new england patriots serving a life sentence from a murder for four years ago. last week he was acquitted in a separate double murder case from 2012. all this news breaking this morning. more on this story and a live report from the prison. inside "america's newsroom." a political fight that will go to extra rounds in georgia. here is the story.
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jon ossoff got 49% of the vote. it sends a run off with republican karen handel. >> shannon: we always have a race to cover and love doing it. i'm shannon bream. democrats hoping to claim a house seat by republicans since 1979. millions being poured in to support the democrats. >> on the republican side it's been a competitive campaign. no core nation that occurred on the democrat side. i think the president is interested in what happens here and why wouldn't he be? he is a republican president. of course he has a vested interest in making sure a republican holds the seat. >> shannon: john roberts joins us now live. the election in this historically conservative district goes to a runoff. race is at stakes ahead of the
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2018 mid-terms. >> the masters golf tournament went to a playoff and so will this race. jon ossoff came closer to 50% than republicans thought he would or liked him to. in a field of five candidates he collected 48.1% of the vote and karen handel had 19.8%. they head for a runoff on the 20th of june. democrats billed the race as a referendum on president trump. many got behind ossoff. democrats are massing a war chest of more than $8 million. much coming from outside the state. democrats had hoped last night was to get ossoff above the 50% mark and win it all. he fell short, but he was declaring victory of a sort. >> no matter what the outcome
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is tonight whether we take it all or fight on, we have defied the odds. we have shattered expectations. >> with his political reputation on the line president trump invested capital in the race. the president tweeted despite major outside money, fake media support and 11 republican candidates, he called the republican winner karen handel this morning the former secretary of state. candidate in the senate race that david perdue won recently and appeared on "fox & friends" last hour. >> the president was beyond gracious and encouraging. i appreciated it so much and he talked about strength under pressure and i was grateful for that as well. as we come into jun 20th over the next two months every single republican we can get
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including the president to be united as we come into fighting what will be a tough race because the democrats are going to pour so much money. >> she has talked to most of the republicans who are running against her. the other 10 stressing the need for them all to campaign for the june 20th runoff. >> shannon: how is that match-up now shaping up? >> the runoff would seem to logically favor the republican candidate. this is a district that hasn't been held by a democrat since 1978. newt gingrich's district and tom price who won it with 62% down from 64% in 2012 and 66% in 2010. some erosion there and the demographics are changing. more democratic photos.
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president tweeted said presidents are failing in kansas and georgia. now it's hollywood versus georgia on june 20th. unlikely the demographics have changed enough important the democrat to pull out a win june 20th. graham saying this morning the closeness of this race last night should be a wake-up call to the gop that there are a lot of moderates out there that they need to pay attention to. >> shannon: we'll see in a few short weeks. john roberts, thank you. >> bill: let's analyze with chris stirewalt. good morning, reverend. you just tweeted the devil went down in georgia. what was it? >> hopefully my analysis is better than my puns. anyway, look, this race was a win for republicans. they held off a surprising challenge from democrats, a win is better than a loss. so there is a lot of analysis going around today people saying wow, democrats really did this. you heard ossoff talking about
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we defied expectations. the problem is that democrats by shoving all the money and attention into this race actually raised the expectations for him. he did much better than anybody would have expected just six months ago that any democrat would do in this race by coming so close to 50%. because it wasn't a win for democrats, instead it turns into an opportunity for president trump to claim a win. >> bill: let's look at the numbers from the election in november. trump won that district with 48% of the vote. hillary clinton had 47%. ossoff as a democrat ups his margin with five other democrats in the race here. you look at the numbers. is that significant? or would you expect with all the outside dollars and attention to be higher than the actual outcome from last night? >> he is a 30-year-old documentwho has no political experience other than a stint as a capitol hill staffer.
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it is not like he was a heavy hitter coming into this race. this is a reflection of democratic voter intensity. i'll tell you this right now. if republicans don't hear the message, it is very easy right now for republicans who want to insulate themselves from bad news to say the protests at the town halls are fake, these intense democratic turnout numbers are fake, it is not real, republicans are fine. if republicans don't pay attention to these early warning signs about what's brewing under the surface of the electorate they'll pay a price later. you have to be connected to reality. they pulled off a great win. they stopped their opponents from taking a house seat that has been theirs since jimmy carter was president. they have to learn the larger lesson. >> bill: tom price had it and newt gingrich had it before that. he said this about it yesterday. >> if you go to a runoff all the republicans come together, the president probably ends up campaigning down there, and he
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loses at which point the media will have to once again be disappointed. but kansas was the same way. remember, all these folks wrote articles about kansas and we won and nobody wrote any articles that kansas anymore. we'll talk tomorrow about what the results are. my hunch is he won't make it. >> bill: he knows that district better than anybody. a clear suggestion there that this race will get national attention for the next month and a half. >> i would think karen handel would hope otherwise. if it becomes a referendum on donald trump, and there is division among republicans about the trump agenda, which is currently dividing republicans. there is significant disagreement about the president's way forward. is he moving right or left? the president remains a unifying, polarizing figure among democrats. donald trump made it harder for republicans in this district. if this becomes a referendum on donald trump, if this becomes a
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national focus freak-out, i think karen handel has a harder time. what she wants down there is for this district to return to its natural state, which is a conservative republican-leaning district with more affluent and educated voters. this is not the trump core or base. this is the traditional republican coalition. >> bill: democrats begin to wonder where did we win? for all the anger and energy of the grassroots the party fell short in georgia and kansas. democratic prospects in upcoming elections are not promising. do you agree with that or not? >> yes, that's the problem with hyping these things up. you want to keep your opponent on their heels and pushing. when you're going for the long-shot wins you'll have strikeouts, you risk demorallyization. they have to bank on hatred of donald trump to get them through some difficult days. >> bill: reverend there from washington, d.c. >> shannon: as they talk about
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when will they win? a lot of people said they did the last eight years. the potential fallout from that race from ronna romney mcdaniel coming up at 10:10. >> bill: a lot of these elections get a lot of careful analysis and for good reason. they tell us a little bit along the way. they leave their political bread crumbs as the country changes, shifts or perhaps does not. that's why -- >> shannon: we have to love every last one. the president tweeting it's hollywood versus georgia. authorities now saying the man who shot and killed three people in the span of two minutes in fresno was shouting allahu akbar and wanted to kill as many white people as possible. authorities say the suspect 39-year-old kori muhammad targeted his victims at random. they're sending at to the scene at the request of local authorities. police are calling it a hate
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crime. >> we do not believe based on the information we have today that this is a terrorist-related crime. this is solely based on race. and it has nothing to do with terrorism. >> shannon: the suspect facing charges of murder and assault. we'll have a live update from fresno at the top of the hour. >> bill: tensions between north korea and the u.s. showing no signs of cooling off today. already today new provocation from pyongyang as the vice president mike pence in that region sends a clear message to the regime. we'll play it for you. plus there is this today. >> tax reform and tax plan is coming along very well and be out soon. we're working on healthcare and we'll get that done, too. >> shannon: president trump says big reforms are on the way but what happens if he and the republicans together can't deliver? a fair and balanced debate coming up. >> bill: homeland security secretary with a stark warning about home-grown terrorism in
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all 50 states. congressman peter king in a moment to talk about this evolving threat and what we need to know. >> the threat to our nation and way of american life has not diminished. it has decentralized and it's threatening us today in a way that's worse than we experienced 16 years ago on 9/11. hey, need fast heartburn relief? try cool mint zantac. it releases a cooling sensation
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>> home grown terrorism is a very, very difficult challenge. few of the challenges we face from a terrorism point of view are even close to as difficult. over the past few years we've seen an unprecedented spike in home grown terrorism. in the past 12 months alone there have been 36 home grown terrorist cases opened in 18 states. these are the cases we know about. >> bill: this man is walking with a big stick. john kelly addressing the spike in home grown terror saying that speech the fbi as opened investigations in each of the 50 states. republican peter king with me to talk about it. welcome back. this is your area. now he says all 50 states there are investigations. i think we've heard that before. what's new about his message, sir? >> i think the fact that secretary kelly is an outstanding leader and he will be one of the superstars of
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this administration. secretary kelly is driving home the point that director comey said about the investigations in all 50 states but it's intense filing. it is every day, every moment terrorists are trying to plot against us and work against us and it becomes harder and harder to stop the plots, detect them. as he was saying, the ones that are announced are the ones we know about. the ones we don't know about that causes great concern. the importance of his speech was to show he is on top of this and commit the full resources of homeland security to find these plots and people involve and stop them before they get started. >> bill: i thought his strongest comments were about border security. it stands out. he talked about we don't know why they're here or why they're coming. we're blind to what they're capable of. he said they slip into our country unnoticed living among us and completely blind as to what they're capable of. he had a similar message about drugs coming across the southern border last weekend.
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so here is a man -- you can understand why president trump picked him because they are on the same page when it comes to these issues. is that the way you hear it? >> absolutely, bill. i can't emphasize that enough. in my own district we've seen a rash of ms-13 brutal killings. again, it's all tied together. it is border security. >> bill: ms-13 comes from central america, right? >> right. it comes across the border. a separate issue. secretary kelly is heavily involved in that, also. his department is very involved in trying to solve these murders here on long island. i think what he is saying these are all related. you talk about the drugs. some people think maybe the drugs aren't that important. maybe marijuana isn't that important. when you have people coming across the border involved in these dealings, they come to this country, they are here to cause harm in many cases, then you have the isis component and people coming from visa waiver countries, ally thames he
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mentioned in his speech that are all parts of border security. the mexican border, airports. people coming in appears to be legitimately from visa waiver countries could well have terrorist backgrounds. this is all part of the challenge facing the department of homeland security. >> bill: you talked about the challenge online when he said the following. watch. >> what's feeding the violence? typically what feeds the violence is the internet. from anywhere across the world terrorist organizations are sharing hateful propaganda with impressionable people. they publish revolting how-to manuals teaching their followers to build bombs and kill innocent people. >> bill: you have home grown terror, the border and the online violence. how equipped is our government in dealing with all three now today, sir? >> it's more equipped than it was. the enemy keeps adapting.
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we're certainly not 100% equipped. we're doing all we can and what secretary kelly mentioned about the internet, that's damaging in so many ways. one, can it be used to recruit and used to work with people who are members of isis but also inspires people. those who may be mentally ill and on the borderline they get inspired by this and go out and carry out these crimes and terrorist acts and there is almost no way to detect them. they don't belong to any organization. haven't been in contact with anyone. they get inspired biff -- by what they see. after something comes across the internet someone attacks a police officer or try to put together weapons that can be used in terrorist attacks. then you have the actual organization where you actually have plans put out on the internet or actually members of isis working together, or it's just to get people to act on their own to be the self-starters, to be the ultimate home grown. >> bill: the challenges are
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many. you believe in secretary kelly. we'll see what kind of job he can get done on behalf of congress as well. thank you for your time. peter king, the republican from new york. appreciate it. 20 past the hour. >> shannon: iran nuke deal once again under the microscope. why the white house is ordering a review of that highly controversial agreement. vice president mike pence serving up a harsh warning to kim jong-un and north korea. his very specific words as tensions rides with that rogue regime. >> we will defeat any attack and meet any use of conventional or nuclear weapons with an overwhelming and effective american response. if you have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, isn't it time to let the real you shine through?
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>> bill: update. former president george hw bush back in the hospital. another case of pneumonia. doctors say he is doing fine. the president's spokesman saying he was admitted friday after having coughing fits. he is being held for observation while he regains his strength. strong man, tough guy. >> shannon: he has come back many times. >> bill: age 92. hang in there down in texas. >> shannon: all of our best. maybe a new pair of socks to brighten things up as well. >> the united states of america will always seek peace. but under president trump, the shield stands guard and the sword stands ready. rest assured under president trump's leadership the united states will continue to protect our people and our allies, and the strength and the bonds between us today, tomorrow and every day that follows.
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>> shannon: the sword stands ready. vice president mike pence sending a harsh new warning to north korea as they release a new propaganda video. benjamin hall is live in london. what is the latest on the rising tensions there in the korean peninsula? >> first thing is kim jong-un showing no signs of backing down despite the growing international pressure against his regime. that regime came out yesterday and said they would launch a preemptive nuclear strike if they felt the u.s. would attack. they went on and said nothing would stop its missile test saying they would continue on a weekly, monthly, even a yearly basis despite the recent failure of the launch on sunday which saw one missile explode four seconds after take-off. meanwhile vice president pence in japan as part of that 10-day tour of east asia sounded defiant speaking aboard the uss
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ronald reagan to 2 1/2,000 u.s. sailors. >> beyond in ship and the carrier strike group it leads by the year 2020 this ocean will boast 60% of our navy's fleet and the skies above already have f-35 joint strike fighters flying for freedom. >> just a reminder of how much military might the u.s. has in the region. they're saying all options remain on the table and reaching to allies saying we'd rather settle this diplomaticly with china's support. >> shannon: what has been the response from the north koreans. >> today a bizarre, musical was staged in pyongyang celebrating the founding of their leader kim jong-il sun involved a large men's choir and ended with missiles exploding in a giant ball of fire in the u.s.
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the video finishes with a burning stars and stripes flag superimposed over rows of white cross necessary a cemetery. analysts are still scouring video from saturday's parade with some pointing out at least one known large missile appears to be of chinese origin underlying one of the biggest challenges. chinese complicity. will china get on board or will it keep playing both sides? one thing is for certain. after trump's use of tomahawk strikes in syria everyone knows his words carry real weight. >> shannon: now from the vice president as well. benjamin hall, thank you very much. >> bill: a former nfl star apparently committing suicide in his prison cell. aaron hernandez serving a life sentence for murder. the developing story out of massachusetts on that coming up in a matter of moments. >> shannon: also how a fast food drive through stop led
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police to a cold blooded killer and a shocking case, plus this. >> president trump: we're working with congress on tax reform and simplification and we're on time if we get that healthcare approval. so press every one of your congressmen. press everybody. >> bill: there is president trump promising big things to come on healthcare and taxes. when will it happen and how important is it for the president to get a win in congress now?
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[student] i can just quit school and get a job.
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[ex student] daddy's here. [wife] hi [dad] hey buddy [son] hey dad [wife] i think we can do this. [chancellor] adam baily. [chancellor] adam baily. >> bill: it is 9:32 now. the manhunt for the cleveland facebook killer is over. steve stephens killing himself yesterday after a brief chase by police. and now they're working to retrace his steps between the easter sunday murder and his suicide yesterday in erie, pennsylvania. >> he is gone but they have answers they need. why would you do this? >> we're glad it's over with and the community can sleep and kids can come back out and don't have to be afraid no more.
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>> bill: we're live in cleveland where it began in easter weekend. who is in line for that reward money, matt? >> it seems like a mcdonalds worker may qualify for that reward. police are praising fast food attendant saying she spotted him at the erie mcdonalds at 11:00 yesterday morning and the entire staff made the killer wait for his food intentionally stalling him. take a listen. >> just told him it would be a minute for his fries. we were just trying to make sure she got in contact with the state police. he didn't want to wait for the fries, which was fine. he took his six-piece, didn't want money back and headed out. >> after that there was a short police pursuit and eventually stephens shot himself. a sigh of relief in cleveland and across the country. he was considered armed and dangerous. police say they wish it ended
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peacefully so he could have questioned him after committing a heinous crime on easter sunday. >> bill: you spoke with the killer's mother yesterday. what was that conversation about? >> she said before the easter shooting her son came to her and said goodbye. it was the last time they would see each other. she said she expected him to do something extreme but not commit murder. he had an extreme gambling problem and he also recently broke up with his girlfriend. take a listen. >> i just heard that coming home that he killed himself in pa. i knew he was going to do that. he didn't want to be shut up by the police. i'm so sorry and my prayers are with his family as well as mine. >> she said she would have rather her son kill himself versus police shooting him. >> bill: matt, thanks, good to have you on the ground there.
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>> president trump: secretary mnuchin is working to put together a tax plan to make our industry more competitive and to provide a level playing field for our workers. we don't have a level playing field, believe me. you'll have one very soon and our tax reform and tax plan is coming along very well. it will be out very soon. we're working on healthcare and we'll get that done, too. >> shannon: more promises from president trump on big things to come in washington but as we approach the end of his first 100 days, what happens if his administration can't deliver on things like healthcare and tax reform? former howard dean campaign manager and former assistant to george w. bush. welcome, gentlemen. they've made a run at a few of these things. to get to the end of the 100 days to repeal and replace obamacare and tax reform and
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infrastructure. if he doesn't have something meaty and legislative to point to is the it a failure in the first 100 days? >> not in 100 days. 2017 has to be a year of action. in 2018 the people head back to the polls. history tells us the power in washington, if a party has the white house doesn't get treated well in the mid-terms. i'm not looking at the first 100 days. i'm looking at the first year and in the first year there has to be success in healthcare, in taxes, and in immigration. that was the promises made. that's the promises that must be kept. >> shannon: all right, joe, the president is touting things he has done through executive action on the military, border change, law enforcement, government reform and supporters say look at the supreme court justice he gave us, now justice neil gorsuch.
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do you give him credit for those? >> he gets credit for thoefs but they won't be enough. i do agree with brad. the first 100 days, that's like kind of something i think that the president bought into that we in the media sort of set as a mark. but not getting legislative proposals through in the first 100 days really doesn't matter if they get through. it took obama 10 months, i think, to get obamacare through. so it's more by the end of this year does he have some legislative wins? and that will be tax reform, his promises on obamacare. if he fails to do those two and some of the other things he has promised, i think it is going to be a very tough sell that the executive orders, yes, they're good. neil gorsuch obviously a big win for him. but it won't be enough to sort
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of show real accomplishments of his big, big, big promises that so far he hasn't been able to deliver on. i do agree with brad it doesn't really matter in the first 100 days if through the year he can accomplish something. >> shannon: i want to play a little bit of what charles krauthammer say about the issue of healthcare and we'll talk about that. >> it doesn't matter whether you promised to abolish obamacare or not. when the president is sworn in on the oath of office he owns the economy and the healthcare system no matter what. so whether you act or you don't, you will get the blame. there is no way to blame the democrats. >> shannon: if he doesn't get something done even if some have said let obamacare fall apart will republicans bear the blame for whatever happens next? >> you bet they are. charles is right. the american people didn't give the keys to the kingdom to the republicans and congress and white house to let obamacare fail. they elected these people to
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replace and fix it. and that's what has to be done. i think republicans are going to be doing that. i know that there are serious meetings taking place on the hill right now as we speak regarding healthcare and taxes and i'm sure -- i am confident that by the close of business on 2017 we'll have not a mod cum of success but great success on healthcare and taxes. >> shannon: chuck schumer says unless the president releases his taxes we can't move forward on tax reform. fair to connect the two? >> you'll get those kind of calls from democrats because look, there is going to be an effort every step of the way just as republicans did with obama, to try to stall the president getting his way on tax reform where they don't agree with him. same thing on healthcare. so that is an impediment.
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the 7 3, 74% of the american people want to see the president's tax returns, want him to release it. it would be kind of naive to think that democrats are not going to press that when that many americans want to see them. and connect it to tax reform and so i think that's going to happen. look, i think this is really kind of a conundrum for the president and the administration. failing on healthcare reform really did create a problem for them on taxes anyway. they needed some of the savings, some of the things they were going to get out of repeal and replace and they didn't get them. it will make the tax reform problem even bigger. and with the president not willing to release his taxes, it will be a mess. >> shannon: he has an ambitious timeline. he said they'll get it all done. they're back from break next week and we'll see what they can cram in. always glad to see you. >> bill: president trump with a
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new message on buying and hiring american. >> president trump: we are sending a powerful signal to the world, we're going to defend our workers, protect our jobs and finally put america first. >> bill: so what is the impact of that order on the american worker? maria bartiromo will break that down in a moment. plus this. >> shannon: new details on the fresno shooting suspect. police say he shouted allahu akbar after killing three people in cold blood. why are authorities calling it a hate crime and not terrorism? i've been a navy federal member, too. thanks to my go rewards credit card, every time i pay for something like this, i'm earning rewards. if you get scared big guy, cliff and i got you. cliff's been driving a boat for six months pretty solid now. para-sail-ing! here we go!
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the old days we used to use it, we'll start using it again. made in the usa. >> bill: president trump signing an order promoting american labor. what is the effect on you the worker? maria bartiromo, how are you doing? the executive order does what as it relates to the american worker and affecting visa applicants, etc. >> here is what the deal is. the order is putting certain protections in place that americans have just as much shot as a foreigner has to get a high-skilled job within technology. the truth of the matter is, as much as we need foreign workers because we don't have enough trained skillful workers to take on the jobs of tomorrow that are actually available, there is also some movement going around to take advantage of the system. look, if you're a technology company and you have an opportunity to hire someone
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that you have to pay $150, $200,000 versus $30,000. you'll take the one you pay $30,000. there has been a bit of abuse around this. that's one of the issues. the president is trying to put guidelines around so yes, jobs are offered to high skilled immigrants but not necessarily as much as it is right now so americans can get a better shot. >> bill: this issue came up during the campaign as well. an intriguing topic you're paying close attention to. kevin brady was talking about tax reform, yes, no, up, down, maybe, perhaps when he said this. >> it has been a generation since we fixed this broken tax code, we probably ought not be focused on the month but the year that happens, which is this year. we're focused on that. sooner is better. we have an aggressive timetable now. ways and means committee will soon be announcing congressional hearings on the blueprint starting next week.
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>> bill: you are looking four or five months from the election and see what the dow 30 as done and you watch it as closely as anything and they're reacting to what they believe government will bring to the american economy. you spoke with someone yesterday who gave you a perspective that is stunning. tell us what she said and whether or not you agree. >> a leading economist said to me. if we don't get tax year and health reform we go into a recession. the amount of money, the number keeps going down. energy, the strength in in energy is masking an economy that's weak. we need to see taxes and healthcare reform to give a boost to the economy. >> bill: he is saying get them both done this year or we're looking at recession. that's dramatic.
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>> look where economic growth is now. it's 1%. we're squaoeng out growth. china had a gdp number last week of 6.% versus under 2% for the u.s. things have gotten better. there is a better sentiment in the air. growth hasn't turned the corner. >> bill: is it your feeling if you do healthcare and tax reform that both contribute to growth in the american economy? what would that compute to then if we're at 1% now? it would be what >> the president talked about 4% in the next year or two. you don't get there right away. there is a way to get to better numbers if you take away the taxes that are killing people in obamacare. affordable care act. he told us a week and a half ago he wants to do healthcare first. it is almost a trillion in savings. you use that trillion to pay off tax reform as a way to pay for tax cuts. but look, i think it's very important that the market understands that there is a
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timeline in place. i saw a memo the other day from goldman sachs telling its clients they aren't expecting tax reform until the fourth quarter. you heard from kevin brady reluctant to pick a month. he said let's talk about a year. let's talk about 2017. will it be retro active? it better be. that's what you do to move a needle on the economy. if it's not, all the impact comes in 2018. >> bill: you go back to the first of january you get a bigger pop. >> yes, if you get lower tax rates for all of 2017 it doesn't matter if you met the august or december deadline it's for 2017. i'm skeptical it will be retro active. >> steve mnuchin said august is a pipe dream. the president touched on it yesterday to throw a damp cloth on that comment. that's the way i heard it. there is a reason why he mentioned it. >> they want to take expectations down. goldman sachs its telling its
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client fourth quarter. markets still up 13% since election day. you have to believe there is belief out there. it is a bit under this market. they think it will get done. if it doesn't get done in 2017 i think you see a sell-off in the markets and you have a problem. >> shannon: the cleveland killer is no longer a threat but now attention turns to the horrific role that social media played in the tragedy. how is facebook's mark zuckerberg reacting to be linked to such a shocking crime?
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>> we have a lot more to do here. we're reminded of this this week by the tragedy in cleveland, and our hearts go out to the family and friends
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of robert godwin sr. and we have a lot of work and we'll keep doing all we can to prevent tragedies like this from happening. >> shannon: the manhunt for the cleveland facebook killer is over. now a new conversation begins. in an age where anyone can broadcast anything on the internet, even the random murder of an innocent man on easter sunday. how responsible are companies like facebook for what their users post in content? brett, good to see you today. zuckerberg talked about the fact they use artificial intelligence tools and the things that get flagged and reported accounts for a third of it. those tools have to get better. what can they do? >> this is an interesting conundrum the social media sites are finding themselves in. the 800 pound gorilla like
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facebook. when you encourage people to share photo memories and share video and go live on your platform, how do you make sure what they are sharing and showing isn't something that is going to be either offensive to someone or in the case of what we saw in cleveland on sunday, the murder of someone, which is really quite tragic? algorithms can get better. you can program them to say if something spikes in popularity that needs in front of human eyes to be looked at. in terms of artificial intelligence, there really would need to be a software system created with the ability to look at what's happening on the video in realtime and decipher as a computer whether or not what it was seeing is good or bad. but now when you think about it, you look at a situation like we find ourselves in at this very second, there is probably a dozen or two dozen people between us, the camera, and the consumer on the other end who is watching us right now. even sometimes in the best case scenarios we can make mistakes
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and we have humans protecting us from start to finish. so facebook finds themselves in a difficult situation. >> shannon: the vice president of globe ol operations said they're reviewing their reporting flows to make sure people can more easily and quickly flag these kind of things and get to somebody who can shut it down. >> right. we saw with the video on sunday it stayed up for three hours before it was taken down. could you add an easy to click flag on a video that says it doesn't seem right and seems like something that is bad and have it escalate in priority so a human person actually saw the video and could say no, this has to go. you could do that but then what about false positives and a scenario like that where a friend gets mad at you because you are on the vacation they want to be on or you get in a situation with ex partners who say i don't want this video to be seen anymore. facebook faces a real challenge in this and it will be interesting to see what they do.
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>> shannon: we have to leave it there, brett. thank you very much. >> bill: they are relying on their users. democrats pour millions into a race by republicans for decades. so what is next? minerals. for the strength and energy to get back to doing... ...what you love. ensure. always be you. there's nothing more than my vacation.me so when i need to book a hotel room, i want someone that makes it easy to find what i want. booking.com gets it. they offer free cancellation if my plans change. visit booking.com. booking.yeah. awwhawhwhawh ... this! this is why i love it here. that fresh air all up in your face. my cousin wilbur in the city has to wear a leash just to go for a stroll. i'm sorry, that...no. but with propane, you can live where you want and how you want. and since it's both clean and reliable,
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>> shannon: police in fresno say the man who went on a deadly shooting rampage yesterday wanted to kill as many white people as possible. three died. investigators are calling it a hate crime. welcome, i'm shannon bream. >> bill: i'm bill hemmer. the suspect 39-year-old corey muhammed well-known to police. a history of mental illness. he was on the run accused of killing another man a week ago. authorities for the moment not treating this as terrorism. >> he became aware of the fact
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that the fresno police department was looking for him for a murder. he made a decision to himself that he was not going to go to jail for shooting a security guard. that he was going to kill as many people as he could today and that's what he set out to do. >> shannon: adam housley joins us live from fresno. good morning, adam. do we know what actually sparked this whole thing with this guy? >> detectives say it was hate. it started about a week ago. last thursday kori muhammad shot a security guard a motel 6 and killed him. for four days the hunt was on. authorities said on video they saw muhammed and when they couldn't find him and leads had gone away is when they put out a public plea to find this guy and detectives say that's when he decided to go out and kill white people. he did at two points yesterday.
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mentioned allahu akbar. last night the police chief in fresno clarified that his alleged murder spree wasn't about religion or terrorism, it was about race. >> he did clarify that the reason he had made that statement in the event anything did happen to him that he was, in fact, pledging his allegiance to god for protection. >> four people killed, three shot yesterday, a father of two who works for a power company here in california was sitting in a work truck with a co-worker. shot and killed by muhammed and two unarmed men were shot near the catholic charities location. one picked up a bag of food and if you add in the security guard last thursday shot at the motel 6 four victims, all white men, all dead and all unarmed. >> shannon: do we know when he will be in court? when we'll see him there? >> california 48 hours. we expect him in court -- last
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night they insinuated it would be tomorrow. that can be moved up at any point. there is a lot of information that needs to be gathered here. they have three separate shooting scenes. they need to continue the investigation there. right now the plan we were told last night is to see him in court tomorrow and expected to be charged with at least four counts of murder plus other charges on top of that. >> shannon: thank you, adam. live for us in fresno. >> bill: there will be a runoff in the stakes in georgia. they've been raised, the stakes, that is. republican karen handel faces jon ossoff in june after a crowded primary seen as an early proxy fight for next year's mid-terms. here it is from last night. >> it is imperative that all of us as republicans come together in unity. >> there is no doubt that this is already a victory for the
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ages. >> bill: jonathon saray is live in atlanta. how does a runoff affect the race? >> republicans had been hoping for a runoff. they had so many candidates in this race they knew winning it outright would be a long shot and because of the crowded field 11 republican candidates, you had republicans attacking republicans during the campaign instead of going after democrats. now that karen handel has emerged the party hopes conservatives will unite around her. >> holding the seat that has such great legacy in tom price and others rises above any one person and that means all of us stand together. >> overnight election returns jon ossoff came in with 48% of the vote in an 18-way race. it was a commanding lead but fell short of the 50% plus one majority to avoid a runoff. >> bill: wlas the strategy for
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the democrats heading into the runoff >> democrats hoped to win yesterday's special election outright. they knew it was a possibility and a long shot because of all the candidates in the race. now they'll have to try to maintain the momentum, maintain enthusiasm going forward into the primary two months from now. listen. >> there is no amount of dark money, super pac, negative advertising that can overcome grassroots energy like this. so bring it on. >> jon ossoff, it favors establishment republicans in this district. straj iss say he needs to win some moderates who normally vote republican. >> he has to instantly go to the middle and we as democrats have to understand that the ultimate goal here is to win.
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>> president trump tweeted this morning dems failed in kansas and are now failing in georgia. great job, karen handel. it is now hollywood versus georgia on june 20th. the president making reference to hollywood a listers who have been supporting ossoff throughout the campaign. >> bill: live in atlanta there, more attention coming your way, stand by. here is shannon. >> shannon: the president has been involved in this one reacting to the race on twitter saying despite major outside money, fake media support and 11 republican candidates big r win with runoff in georgia. glad to be of help. joining us now is republican national committee chair woman ronna mcdaniel. great to see you this morning. a bit of a nail biter last night. are you feeling relieved today? >> democrats put all their eggs in winning the election yesterday. they knew they had to get jon ossoff over the 50% mark.
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they fall short. now republicans will get behind handel to bring her to a win in june. >> shannon: the mere fact that we're talking about a competitive race in a congressional district democrats haven't held in 40 years is the nationwide grassroots movement for leaders ready to stand up to republicans. does the race say anything to you so far about what you can be facing in the 2018 mid-term? >> generally not good for the party of the president in power. >> well, special elections in and off themselves are different and unique. we need to take that into consideration. but let's look at jon ossoff, a canadien shall-candidate who doesn't live in the district. 97% of the money who funded his race, the juggernaut of fundraising came outside of the
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district. he is bringing in hollywood actors to push his message. he is the least qualified candidate to represent georgia. what we saw in the trend lines of early voting yesterday is that people in georgia in the sixth district when they got to know him more they supported him less. we'll see that continue as they learn more about this candidate and how unqualified he is to represent them. >> shannon: even as you outline what you see as flaws for this candidate or the fact you don't believe he is qualified enough he almost got to 50% last night and it would have flipped the seat. are you concerned what it says about the grassroots intensity that democrats, the left, harnessing these demonstrations and protests and those kinds of things into these kinds of races, you know, yes, as you talked about bringing in outside celebrities, the president says hollywood versus georgia. if it almost worked does it show vulnerability for the gop? >> the democrats are looking for a win and the amount of money he raised is
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unprecedented in a congressional race. they are looking for their first win against this president and they have fallen short after every turn. their message is obstruct and resist and the president continues to talk to the american people about his agenda to make their lives better. john ossoff would be another vote for nancy pelosi and going to washington and saying i won't do anything. i'll go to washington to do nothing. and voters if they're hearing what the message the republicans are putting forward and the message -- the non-message democrats are putting forward they'll go with republicans. >> shannon: you talk about the white house agenda. it is ambitious and the president is hopeful to get things done, healthcare, tax reform, infrastructure and other things. as the clock ticks and the things aren't getting checked off do you worry about the implications for the races next year if there aren't major laegt late -- president --
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folks thought when you have the consolidation of party power you should be able to do. >> you have seen gorsuch, the president take action in syria, you've seen consumer confidence up and jobs coming back. there is no question we have to fulfill the campaign promises we made. we have to focus on healthcare, repealing and replacing obamacare and tax reform and the president said he will do that. and i expect that we'll see results on those fronts before november of 2018 and voters will be very pleased with the results they see from republican leadership. >> shannon: would you expect the president to get more involved in the race in georgia? he was involved in tweeting and doing calls and those kind of things. do you think he will show up down there? is that a plus or minus? >> we want the president involved in every one of these special elections. he is the leader of our party and galvanizes our base and he has a message. i need people in congress to work with me so i can enact the things we ran on and the
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reasons why you voted for me. we have to fix our healthcare system. people are hurting. we need to get jobs and get our economy going. please send people to congress who will help me. the president is the best messenger to help turn out our vote. >> shannon: all right, ronna mcdaniel, rnc chair woman. thanks for coming on. >> bill: breaking news from overnight. aaron hernandez found dead in his prison cell. what investigators are saying about that ahead in a live report from the jail. plus there's this. >> president trump: it's one of the worst deals i've ever seen. we're looking at it very strongly. to make that deal is insane. >> shannon: president trump making good on his promise to revisit the iran nuclear deal calling for a full review. what would happen if the u.s. did back out? lieutenant colonel ralph peters will talk about that. >> bill: homeland security john kelly with a message for congress when it comes to criticism of the trump add min traition policies it's time to put up or shut up.
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fair and balanced debate on that comment next. >> we'll never apologize for carrying out our mission. we'll never apologize for making our country more secure. we ask nothing more than respect and support.
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>> bill: word today out of damascus, the government saying the evacuation of thousands from four besieged areas has resumed. the transfers had been on hold after a bombing saturday that
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killed more than 100 people. many of them children. more than 3,000 civilians said to be transferred to government-controlled aleppo. meanwhile about 1,000 opposition fighters are being allowed the leave the area heading toward a rebel-held province in the north. >> lawmakers do not like the laws we enforce and charged to enforce and sworn to enforce, they should have the courage and the skill to change those laws. otherwise, they should shut up and support the men and women on the front lines. >> shannon: he is not mincing words. john kelly calling out critics of president trump's travel ban and efforts to crack down on illegal immigration. his agency is simply following the law and he is tired of it being used as a political pawn. a former deputy campaign manager for presidential
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candidate martin o'malley. and a columnist for "the washington examiner". good to see you both this morning. liss, he says shut up if you aren't going to fix it. he says morale is terrible at dhs and the people are tired being portrayed of people who are heartless rounding up innocent mothers and ripping them away from their families. he said we're doing our jobs and people are getting half the story. his employees are being constantly attacked inaccurately. >> first of all general kelly maybe needs to grow some thicker skin and realize that he is serving in the u.s. government now and not in the military. i know in the military they discourage questioning authority. they discourage open debate. open debate is what makes our government great. what makes a public great. >> he said it if you don't like it, take action and change it on capitol hill.
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>> republicans are in control. go after the republican party. they can't get any of their top priorities through congress. however, people across the country will continue to speak out when we believe that dhs is making us less safe. look, who is enforcing the law? let's talk about who is speaking out against dhs. the new york police department. when it comes to keeping me safe, i will trust the men and women of the nypd any day over an ice official that's brought here to stake out a courthouse and deport a victim of domestic violence. >> shannon: let's bring in kristen on this. i'll give you a chance to respond. is this congress's fault? if the immigration laws aren't good, who is to blame? >> we need to come up with a solution. what do we do about the folks here? the fact of the matter is the law now says if you aren't
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supposed to be in the united states, if you legally don't have permission to be here, then it is the job of immigration and customs enforcement to come in and find you and to remove you from the country. so i'm sympathetic to what secretary kelly has to say. the folks that work in the department of homeland security really only hear about the work they do if something goes wrong and why you had morale very low at agencies of their sort, intelligence agencies, all sorts of folks whose job is to keep us safe. you really only hear about them when things go wrong. when things are going right you don't hear about them and why morale is low and why he is defending his staff from being used as political pawns and facing criticism from folks that haven't really tried very hard to make the laws different. >> let's look at this. there is no law saying that dhs is a mass deportation force, that they have the right to go and -- go into schools and churches and community centers
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and rip apart families and rip apart communities and again i'm going to go back to what the nypd has said and lapd said. these policies make big cities, make big cities like new york and la less safe because they encourage immigrants to live in the shadows. it makes it much harder for police departments to do their job. >> why we need to reform the laws. >> shannon: we shouldn't be picking and choosing. if we got to decide what we were going to do. there are a number of families who have been victimized by criminal illegal aliens. can we a agree people who committed violent offenses ice has a right to deport those people. >> this was president obama's policy as well.
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it wasn't carried out as fully. he said look, we'll put priority on making sure folks who committed crimes are the folks we're trying to get out of the country first. a lot of immigration report folks called obama the deporter in chief. president trump said it wasn't enough. and why we've seen this big change. >> shannon: good to see you both. we have to leave it there for now to be continued. >> bill: there is an investigation underway after former nfl star aaron hernandez report evidently hangs himself inside of a prison cell. what we know thus far. we're live outside that jail in a moment. >> shannon: supreme court justice neil gorsuch getting ready to hear his first big religious case and how it could have an impact of how money is used by private institutions. >> we're hopeful the supreme court will fix the double standard. kids are kids and all kids
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>> bill: we're hearing prison officials in massachusetts confirming the death of aaron hernandez from an apparent suicide. they say the former new england patriot star and convicted killer hanged himself inside his cell. we're live in massachusetts, 50 miles outside of boston. that's where the prison is where hernandez was serving a life sentence. molly, what are you learning there? good morning. >> bill, the juxtaposition is startling. aaron hernandez found hanging in his cell on the same day his former teammates the new england patriots are down in washington, d.c. at the white house celebrating another super bowl victory. we're outside of the prison here in shirley, massachusetts where he was serving life
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without parole convicted in 2013 for a murder. just after 3:00 a.m. he was found hanging in his cell according to the department of corrections he had used a bed sheet attached to a cell window and attempted to block his door by jamming items into it. lifesaving techniques were attempted and he was rushed to a hospital. but a doctor pronounced him dead this morning at 4:07 a.m. >> bill: molly, this timing is interesting. what is the suggeson through all of this? >> this apparent suicide comes less than a week after aaron hernandez had gained an acquittal in his second murder trial stemming from an alleged drive-by shooting that claimed the lives of two men in boston in 2012. he broke down crying in court last friday as that verdict was read. he was convicted on a firearms charge by the superior court. the judge sentenced him to four
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to five years in prison served after his current sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. then he was essentially returned to prison facing the stark realities of his life here in that single cell. the new england patriots have a brief message saying the patriots are aware of the reports but don't anticipate any statements being put out today. >> bill: interesting the new england patriots are at the white house today celebrating a super bowl championship. molly, on scene there. >> shannon: the iran nuclear deal under scrutiny by the trump administration. the white house giving the agreement a once over. what could it mean for the controversial deal? >> bill: the vice president mike pence not mincing words with north korea saying the sword stands ready. is military action then on the table? colonel ralph peters will address that next. >> those who challenge our resolve or readiness should know we will defeat any attack and meet any use of
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>> the united states of america will always seek peace but under president trump the shield stands guard and the sword stands ready. >> bill: vice president mike pence continues his tour in asia putting north korea on those comments there. telling sailors till against is critical. this is the uss carl vinson steaming toward the new york peninsula. sir, how are you, colonel, good morning? >> i'm really good. >> bill: on the carl vinson thing what was going on there? >> it was a goof-up. admiral harris issued an unclear statement.
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secretary mattis compounded the confusion and then our president just ran with the confusion. but the odd thing is, it turned out well because this ball of confusion turned into an effective psychological warfare tool against north koreans. it got their attention. not everything goes perfectly in life. this turned out all right. >> bill: i would say that in connection with the mother of all bombs last week. it was ramped up. back to mike pence. he says the sword stands ready. what is he saying now on this trip do you believe? >> well, he is -- mike pence is really doing a superb job on this east asia tour. he is representing this administration flawlessly. he has a good speech writer, the phrases are coming powerfully and the fact that the vice president is there and lingering there addressing our sailors, visiting south korea, japan it is sending a strong signal that we're present. you know, this is a
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media-driven world and mike pence looks strong and presidential standing up. he is fit standing up there in his bomber jacket with the patches on it and it is a great image for america and anybody thinks it's a lightweight comment i'll tell you in the world today image matters and mike pence is doing us proud. >> bill: just think about the media attention he is getting in asia on this trip, and in china. >> indeed. pence is one of those people by standing there projects strength. he has a very special kind of almost reticent charisma and also level headed. with him and trump it is an interesting tag team where trump is the flamboyant one that goes on the attack and pence is the steady hand on the tiller. i mix metaphors but clearly the
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administration is beginning to formulate a sound and forward-looking east asia policy. by the way, the sour grapes complaints that what trump is doing in korea is more of obama, it's obama's policy, no it's not. obama was hiding under the bed clothes with a pillow over his head. trump is facing up to the reality of this threat. >> bill: this is a real asia pivot we haven't seen in awhile. iran. rex tillerson said this administration will check out the iran deal. not getting rid of it or changing it but they have concerns. lindsey graham was asked about it on nbc and said this. >> when you look at the deal when it was signed until now. they have gotten worse. what i would do, i would put sanctions on the regime for violating the u.n. resolution on missile tests, humiliating our sailors and being a sponsor of terrorism. >> bill: i don't know if they make a change in this or not. perhaps you have a different
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view of that. it puts iran on notice again. what is your view of it? >> i think lindy graham got it right. we can't just abdicate or reject this awful treaty. this giveaway treaty that obama and kerry formulated for us. but what we can do and what graham is saying is no, get them on the other stuff. if we cast off the new treaty the europeans and everybody gets mad we're the bad guys. by going after the violations of the missile test ban and other aggressive activities we can put sanctions on them from a different angle. you are doing a bank shot. >> bill: would you expect this from this team based on what you've seen from the national security team so far, colonel? >> i would hope so. they're juggling a lot of balls right now and you have to get it right. one thing that i too often hear from those on the right is that sanctions don't work. they do work.
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they work imperfectly and not immediately but sanctions are hurting russia right now and sanctions had been really hurting iran until obama sold the farm. >> bill: thank you for your time, colonel. we'll see whether or not that movement is afoot. the letter has been written. >> shannon: secretary of state rex tillerson trying to deepen ties with saudi arabia. good morning, rich. how is the trump administration approaching the u.s. relationship with saudi arabia. >> they're moving closer to saudi arabia. it falls to secretary of state rex tillerson who in his previous job with exxonmobile built substantial business ties there. secretary tillerson speaks this afternoon at the u.s. saudi arabia ceo summit.
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while the administration says it's an important relationship, the security relationship between the u.s. and saudi arabia is now his chief tax, the u.s. and saudi arabia are coordinating on the fight against isis, efforts in syria and attempted transition away from president bashar al-assad and fighting in yemen and saudi arabia and iran have been competing for influence for decades. the saudis are looking for a stronger u.s. opposition to iran. >> shannon: it remains a threat, rich. >> yes, iran does. also has to do with the iran nuclear deal that iran is looking to expand its influence in the region. there is a letter last night that secretary of state sent to house speaker paul ryan, secretary tillerson confirmed iran is complying with the ob ligations in the iran nuclear deal but he says iran is a leading state sponsor of terrorism and the trump
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administration is reviewing the iran nuclear deal if it's in the national security interests of the united states. the trump administration has already implemented other sanctions against iran for its support of extremists this as the secretary of defense james mattis is in saudi arabia today where he said the u.s. is enforcing saudi arabia's resistance to iran's mischief. thanks, rich. >> bill: we mentioned a few moments ago the super bowl champion new england patriots are making a trip to the white house today celebrating their amazing come from behind win in the super bowl over atlanta. half a dozen players will skip the trip for various reasons, some personal, some political. we learn the star quarterback tom brady won't be there. he is a friend of the president. he said in a statement earlier today he has to deal with personal family matters so we wish him the absolute best. his mom has not been in the greatest health lately and he referred to that in various interviews. our best to him and his family.
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>> shannon: the one game she made was meaningful. so much to have her there. justice neil gorsuch taking his seat on the nation's highest court. today's case presents a duel challenging. religious freedom and taxpayer dollars. >> bill: how about an asteroid the size of six football fields? oh, game on. scientists say there is nothing to worry about. we'll tell you why. >> shannon: okay. >> bill: takes the punch out, doesn't it? whoa, this thing is crazy.
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>> bill: adidas sending an email. congratulations you survived the boston marathon. the company quickly sending out an apology for the flub saying
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in part clearly there was no thought given to the email subject line we sent tuesday. i cut them slack on that. marathons aren't easy. you have done one and you were the victim of. >> shannon: lost my toenails and temper another time in pittsburgh. got it done. very hilly. the most hilly course in the u.s., i believe. brand-new supreme court justice neil gorsuch set to face an early test with a test on religious freedom being argued now involving a fight whether taxpayer money can be used as a pre-school blocked because it is linked to a church. will public money be allowed to flow to religious institutions? is that ever okay? the american center for law and justice jay sekulow. supporters wanted gorsuch on
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the bench because of cases like this that ultimately wound up in the supreme court. he is hearing this case today. how do you think it will go down? >> i'm optimistic. full disclosure we filed a brief with the supreme court in the case supporting the church. we think the church's position is correct. if you look at what it's really about, the idea a church would be excluded from a general welfare program. sounds so simple but it has major ramifications. that is excess rubber that is then purchased through state grants for non-profit groups for schools and to make the playground safer. it sounds like an easy situation and then there is this tar g*eted exclusion that if the school was a faith-based institution they couldn't qualify nunds missouri's constitutional interpretation. the missouri governor has changed that and has said he would allow them to apply but of course that doesn't really change the fact that the case goes forward because it's capable of happening again. look, at the end of the day i
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think neil gorsuch will be up there is very good. he was great on religious liberty. i've had cases in front of him then and i'm optimistic this will be a good day for religious freedom. we'll find out. they are arguing as we speak. >> shannon: we want to play a little bit of what he said during confirmation hearings when he was grilled on this topic. >> any sincerely held religious belief cannot be abridgeed by the government without a compelling reason and even then, it has to meet -- narrowly taylored. strict scrutiny. >> shannon: people talk about the fact the u.s. government can't establish a religion and then you get to this line do you cross over into discriminating against a faith-based group? that's what they argue. these state grants were to go out to anybody who wanted to improve playground safety. they knew there was a chance
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they wouldn't get approved. they ranked 5th out of 44 and told no, you are connected to the church and no state funds for you. >> this was like me saying if a church needed the services of the fire department, they can't get them because that would be the government giving aid to a church. this is -- these are general welfare. this isn't advancing a particular curriculum or point of view. this is simply providing safety for a school that as you mentioned scored 5 out of 44 applicants that should have qualified for this funding to get this safety in place. that's what we're talking about here. it is exactly the same thing like i said a fire department or police department, you can't go to the religious institution because that will violate the establishment clause of the constitution. if it's interpreted that way it's a horrible precedent. we have nine justices, hopefully the case moves forward.
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i know the lawyer arguing does a great job. the end result is going to be very positive for the church and i think even though it sounds like a case involving excess rubber could be a big deal, these cases can be. you've covered them for years. >> shannon: i want to ask you looking forward now. the court will vote like they do in secret once a week during this conference session they look at cases going to come down the pike. we've been waiting for a case out of colorado that involves a bakery where the christian owner said they didn't want to be forced to take part in a same sex ceremony or wedding. the guy was put out of business and told he needs to be reeducated and they haven't voted on this. now that justice gorsuch is there he will get a vote on whether or not to hear the case. do you think they'll take it? >> it takes four votes. the question will be does this issue now, is it of such national significance that the court would like to weigh in?
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you have the competing interests of free exercise of religion what the bakers are going to argue that they have the free exercise here and you'll have the other side arguing wait a minute, you are engaged in commercial commerce. once you're engaged in commerce you have to serve in a non-discriminatory matter. it makes for an interesting argument. but whether the court will take it, they have delayed it. i think -- look, the only one that knows that are going to be the court. i think they've reset it for conference. they asked for the record in the case. i wouldn't be surprised if they grant a review. >> shannon: what do you make of his brisk start. 22 questions on day one. >> i've had cases in front of him when he was judge gorsuch. he was an inquest tore. i like that. when i start my oral arguments if i get 30 seconds before getting questions that's a lot. that's his personality and style. he took that style from the
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10th circuit to the supreme court of the united states. >> shannon: the seat he fills for antonin scalia had a question or two. >> bill: there is breaking news out of washington on the political future for a major republican. we'll tell you about that in a moment as we get that news just here at america's newsroom. in the meantime opponents of sanctuary cities putting up a big fight in one state. republicans slamming legislation backed by democrats saying it protects illegal immigrants guilty of violent crimes. the latest on this battle straight ahead.
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>> bill: the attorney general of the united states jeff sessions is our guest on now now today as the u.s. intensifies a crackdown on
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illegal immigration. mike pence says the u.s. will always seek peace but the sword stands ready. a not so subtle remark. a nail biter of a race in georgia. both sides of the aisle are playing such close attention ahead on "happening now." >> shannon: big news on a big name on the gop side of the hill is basically stepping down. not right now but not seek reelection. congressman jason chaffetz served on an important committee with a number important investigations. after a lot of time and consideration for his family. he has been away from home 1500 nights he wants to spend more time with them and returning to the private sector. >> bill: all his work on the jude i -- judiciary. i may run again for public office. there is a senate race in utah or a run at the governor's
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office in salt lake. we'll stand by for that. a big deal for republican leadership and when you think about fast and furious and think about benghazi, he has been in the middle of all of that. more details when we get it. in the meantime battle brewing in california. republican lawmakers fighting a bill to make the entire state a sanctuary state for illegals. we're live in l.a. on that. william, seems like a battle in every state capitol. what is going on? >> where government should draw the line on deportation. who stays or goes, all illegals or only criminal aliens? arrested and released, charged with a felony and plead to a misdemeanor. to victims it doesn't matter. >> this is my son. i miss his smile every day. he will never tell me happy mother's day. >> victims of criminal
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immigrants in california are fighting back. >> i don't want another family member to have to live the hell, pain and suffering that i live with every day. >> tuesday republican assemblyman allen introduced a bill to stop california from becoming a safe haven for criminal aliens. >> it would stop state funds from going to any california jurisdiction that claims to be a sanctuary city in place. secondly. it would direct california law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration officials. >> these immigration policies don't work. >> it counters other efforts. >> child abusers, drug dealers, stalkers, >> today we announce the launch of a $10 million justice fund. >> it uses taxpayer money to defend criminal aliens. allen's bill would stop that expenditure not just in la and
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san francisco but the state as well. >> we will not tolerate it. we live by one rule of law. we pay our taxes for the constitution to be covered. >> this bill died in committe yesterday. no surprise. it wasn't the point. whether it's a rally for immigrants or a press conference for victims these events are about public opinion and getting washington's attention. >> bill: good reporting there. thanks. >> shannon: attorney general jeff sessions heading back to the u.s./mexico border as the administration takes aim at illegal immigration and gang violence. are their efforts working? the attorney general joins "happening now" just ahead.
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♪ >> a giant asteroid is heading towards earth. nasa scientists say it's more
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than a quarter miles wide. don't worry, don't get cocky either, because the closest and esther has come to earth in 13 years. >> make it a great day on wednesday. "happening now" starts right no now. >> jenna: we are following several big stories right now. first the change -- >> jon: the uss carl vinson extending. starting early next week, it will provide a consistent presence in the south korean peninsula. plus our country's turbulent political atmosphere it on display in one georgia election. a democratic upstart coming with a whisker.

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